Sunday, August 31

7:30- Time to get up. We took our time getting ready because we knew we did not have very far to walk for a change! At 8, we walked the short block from our hotel to Gare Saint-Lazare. However, this time we did not go underground into the metro. Instead, we walked along the platform where many above-ground trains were stationed.

We quickly bought some pastries for breakfast and a baguette for later use from “La Croissanterie” located inside the train station. Once that was out of the way, we took a look at the large departures board for the trains. We knew that one of these trains was ours, but we were not sure which one at first glance! We quickly realized that since our destination was not a final stop, it would be better to search by train number instead of by destination. After checking and double-checking to make sure we were at the right platform, we got out our print-at-home tickets and inserted them in the composting machine to be composted. It was a little yellow-colored machine that looked somewhat like a soap dispenser mixed with a parking meter. I had read that not composting tickets could lead to major issues, so even though I couldn’t figure out where on the printed sheet of paper to compost, I just guessed and moved on. We had no assigned seats, so we just took two seats on the top level from where we would have a better viewpoint. Our train was a regional-level SNCF train that ran up to Rouen and back. Our stop was around the halfway point: Vernon. At precisely 8:20, the train began to move slowly out of the station and we were off!

I did not expect the train ride to be so smooth. It was quite relaxing, actually. The scenery that we passed was mostly suburban areas and industrial complexes, but just before we reached Vernon, we were treated to a very nice view of the Seine river bluffs. The entire trip only took about 50 minutes to reach Vernon.

We hopped off and briskly walked in the direction of a café that we knew would offer us our next mode of transportation- bicycle. We were the first people from the train to arrive at the café, so we had no wait at all. The bike rental required 12 euros per bike and an ID to hold in reserve. The whole process took less than two minutes, and we were quickly on our way through the streets of Vernon.

It was chilly that morning, and the cool wind rushed past us as we coasted downhill towards the bridge across the Seine. The view of the river valley from the bridge was resplendent in the morning light. I regret that I did not stop to take a picture of the scene, but we were in a hurry to arrive at our destination by 9:30. Well that didn’t happen. After crossing the bridge, I made a navigation mistake and missed the turn for the bicycle route. After backtracking, we found the designated bike trail that followed the Seine upriver. (So you don’t make the same mistake that I did: Go through the roundabout after the bridge, through 1 more intersection, and the bike route will be on your right through what looks like a parking lot. If you pass a church, you went too far.)

After about 3 kilometers heading southeast on the trail, we arrived in the town of Giverny. We biked through the sleepy little town, and within minutes, we saw the signs for Claude Monet’s House and Gardens. In total, the bike route from the Vernon train station to this point was about 5.5 kilometers (3.5 miles). It was now 9:40, so we were only slightly late. We got off our bikes and tried to chain them to a nearby metal fence, but a man immediately appeared from out of nowhere to direct us to the designated bike parking just ahead that we did not see. Now that we were parked in the right location, we walked down a shaded path to the ticket booth for Claude Monet’s House and Gardens. We were excited, but we did not anticipate the grandeur that awaited us just inside.

We had already purchased our tickets online, so we took out our print-at-home tickets and walked right in. We were immediately dazzled by a wall of color and light. Flowers of all kinds were in full bloom all the way to a beautiful pink house with green shutters that provided the backdrop. It was a stunning first view. From here, we actually backtracked a few steps and walked underneath the road to the famous water gardens- home to Monet’s lily ponds. After he moved to Giverny in 1883, Claude Monet actually diverted some of the water from the nearby Epte river. His neighbors were really skeptical of this, but the world thanks them for not putting up too much of a fuss!

The morning light was just beginning to shine on the water, so most of the water lilies had not yet bloomed for the day. We walked around the path, navigating our way past the hordes of tour-bus-tourists that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. We walked across the two famed Japanese bridges and found a more quiet spot to take in the scenery. It was amazing to think that some of the world’s most cherished pieces of art were created at the very spot that we were standing.

We were really impressed, but there was so much more to see. We crossed under the road again through the tunnel and took a walk through the main gardens near the house. I could not believe the variety of the flora- it seemed that every plant was completely unique in the garden. It was impossible to give each flower the attention it deserved, but we tried our best as we slowly worked our way up to the house itself.

There was a very long line to enter the house thanks to all the tour groups, but at least it moved quickly. Each room in the house was painted with a very specific color scheme. The yellow kitchen and the blue sitting room were standouts. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in the house. It only took us about 10-15 to see the entire house, so we took one last walk down to the water gardens and back. The Monet House and Gardens was an astonishingly beautiful place (even with all the tourists). Perhaps we would have had better luck (read: fewer tourists) by visiting later in the day, but we had no regrets.

It was nearly 11am when we got back on the bikes. We were about to embark on a journey into the (somewhat) unknown. I had of course done extensive research about the best routes to take on this escapade, but since we were a bit behind schedule I had no idea what we would actually be able to see and do. So, completely on our own, we set off on our grand biking adventure by following the main road eastward from Giverny.

We made it to Sainte-Geneviève-lès-Gasny after about 3 kilometers on the main road. We veered off to the right, and rode through the quiet streets of the village.

Once through the town, we crossed the main road. We took the first right and continued along nearly-deserted streets towards the town of Gasny. Here, after passing through a grocery store parking lot off the main intersection, we found what we were looking for- the regional bike trail.

We followed this bike trail for about 4 kilometers through corn and sunflower fields until we saw a sign for “Le Moulin de Fourges.” We turned right here, and rode through the outskirts of the town of Fourges towards the Epte river.

We arrived at the Fourges mill about noon. We were hungry, so we decided to make this our picnic location. Did we ever get lucky with that choice! I could not imagine a more picturesque spot for a picnic. We found a bench with a view of the quaint old mill (which is a restaurant today) across the river. The water of the Epte river made for a pleasant soundtrack as it splashed along the man-made falls that once were used to mill grain. As we laid the picnic spread out on the bench, the sun appeared from behind a cloud. It seemed that everything was now finally ready for an unforgettable lunch.

We had bought most of our lunch fare the previous evening at a small store, but the baguette that we purchased that morning at the train station was also on the menu. Our lunch consisted of Camembert cheese, the baguette, chocolates, and two small bottles of wine. Our stop at Fourges was truly a feast for all the senses.

I did not really want to leave that wonderful moment, but we were excited at the prospect of seeing more of “small-town” France. We got back on the bikes, and we were off through the streets of Fourges in search of the bike trail.

Once we found the trail, we went about three more kilometers and passed through the town of Bray-et-Lû. It was about this point that I realized that Megan was having some trouble keeping up. I was barely pedaling, and Megan is a good biker, so I thought it odd that she was having such difficulty. Two kilometers later, we finally decided to switch bikes to see if that would make a difference. As soon as I sat down on the bike, I immediately thought “oh no.” The rear bike tire was completely flat. No wonder she was having such trouble! Seeing as we were so close to our next stop, we (perhaps foolishly) continued on.

We crossed a very old stone bridge and pedaled up a one-lane road-first through the hamlet of Aveny. As we biked past meadows filled with wildflowers, we kept a lookout for the trailhead of a short hike that I hoped we would try. Luckily, it was well marked by a sign. We got off the bikes and set out on foot.

This trail led directly uphill for about 3 minutes before we took the left fork of an intersection on the ridge line. After about 2 more minutes, we arrived at the Allée Couvert. An Allée Couvert is a specific type of dolmen- which is a megalithic tomb from ancient times. This particular dolmen dated back to somewhere between 2000BC  and 6000BC. It was pretty awesome to see such an old ruin, but in the shadowy, dense tree cover, we were admittedly a bit creeped out. Apparently, there are many other dolmens found all throughout Western Europe. Archaeologists are still at odds in concern to who built them and why.

Back on the bike, things were getting worse. I could now actually feel the tire rims touching the pavement. At least the tire was still attached, but even that was becoming less and less assured. We again passed through Aveny. This time, however, we took to the main road and quickly stopped to admire the Chateau d’Aveny from a distance. It was surprising to just come across chateau in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere.

At this point, I was beginning to worry that we were not going to make it back in time. It was excruciatingly difficult to pedal the bike on a flat tire. To save on time, we stayed on the main road for a bit instead of returning to the trail. Our route took us through the tiny village of Saint-Rémy on our way back to Bray-et-Lû.

The bike trail crossed the main road at Bray-et-Lû, so we opted to get back on the trail. As we powered our way past Fourges and on to Gasny, the kilometers seemed to turn into miles. Near the eastern outskirts of Gasny, we took a quick look at a gas station/supermarket (which was closed), but we did not find any air pumps available there. It probably would not have mattered anyway- I was fairly certain the inner tube was punctured. Once we were through Gasny, we had to return to the main road towards Giverny. The going was tough, but somehow the bike still functioned. I checked the time, and saw that it was going to be close. We only had 5 more kilometers to go, but with my energy reserves depleted, it wasn’t sure that I could do it!

When we finally reached the bridge over the Seine to Vernon, I knew we were going to make it. We had about 20 minutes remaining before our 2:49pm train was set to leave Vernon station. Megan was still worried, so she continued across the bridge towards the station. However, there were still two sites that I had to see. The first was Le Vieux Moulin- The Old Mill. This mill built in the 1500’s was somehow still standing despite the fact that most of the bridge upon which it resided had long since collapsed into the Seine- A forgivable offense since the bridge itself dated back to the 1100’s.

The second and final sight that I wanted to see only required me to turn slightly to my right. There, the old Tournelles Castle stood. This castle also dates back to the 12th century since it was built to protect the bridge (one of the first across the Seine) from the English. This was a time when England controlled much of present-day Normandy, and the french king Philippe Auguste (Phillip II) used it as a base of operations from which to launch attacks against English troops led by king Richard the Lionheart.

As I crossed the bridge back into Vernon, I snapped a picture of the impressive church (another Notre Dame). Construction began on this church in the late 11th century, but it was not finished until the 17th century!  On the other side of the bridge, I met up with Megan, and we biked up the hill through the town to the train station. We returned our bikes and hurried to catch the train. (We worried that we might have some trouble for the flat tire, but luckily it did not come to that).  At precisely 2:49, the train departed the station. We were on our way back to Paris, but we were not done for the day yet!

The train was considerably more crowded than the morning’s train, and there were barely any seats. Luckily it was not a long ride. However, once I sat down, I realized how exhausted I was from biking with a flat tire for so long. In total, we biked 50 kilometers (30 of which were with the flat tire!) Our original plans for this day did not include biking past Giverny, so if I had to do it over again, I would have taken a later train back to Paris. (We originally bought the train tickets before we decided to bike further than Giverny.) However, I would not have traded our experience for anything- even with the flat tire fiasco! We felt like we were able to see something special- a part of France that was hidden but authentic. And we were better off for it.

Upon returning to Paris, we took a short break at the hotel.  But despite all of the day’s activity, we were to eager to get out into the city. Since it was only 4:15, we decided to use our museum passes to visit the Musée Nissim de Camondo. But first, we had to deal with my momentary bout of insanity in which I thought I had completely lost my museum pass. We made it halfway to the museum before I realized that I didn’t have it. After a frantic search, I finally located it wedged between the suitcase and the wall. Oh well, all’s well that ends well!

Luckily, this museum was located only a few blocks away (just north of our Boulangerie Kayser hangout), so it was not a very long walk. The museum itself is a beautifully-decorated mansion that belonged to the Camondo family. It was built in 1911 and was turned into a museum in the 1930’s to honor the tragic death of Nissim de Camondo in WWI. It reminded me quite a bit of some of the interior design features of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC-which was also built around this time. The museum did not take long to see, but it was definitely worth our visit since we had the museum pass.

After our museum visit, we took a long walk to a restaurant near the Saint-Georges metro that we wanted to try- L’Affineur’Affiné. It was known for its cheeses, and we had yet to test our luck with a cheese plate in Paris. The website said that the restaurant would be open, but alas, it was not. This just goes to show that in Paris, one can never be too certain about when a restaurant or place of business is open (At least on Weekends, Mondays, and ANY day in August for that matter!) It is always best to call if you are unsure, of course.

Not to be deterred, we decided to just take the metro from Saint-Georges to somewhere near Île de la Cité where we had plans for the evening. There was not really a great route to get there, so instead we took the long way to the Odéon station with a transfer at Sèvres-Babylone. We wandered around aimlessly for a bit until our grumbling stomachs were too loud to ignore. We found a pizzeria on the corner of Rue de la Harpe and Rue Saint-Séverin that looked promising, so we grabbed a table with a view of the busy pedestrian intersection. We ordered a bottle of wine (as usual) and a couple of pizzas that turned out to be incredibly satisfying. We ate slowly and enjoyed the view from our table as people from all walks of life crossed paths in front of us.

We must have been even hungrier than we thought, because we could not pull ourselves away from a return visit to Amorino. It didn’t help that it was just across the street from the pizzeria, and people were constantly walking by us with their desserts in hand. I had another gelato cone, but this time Megan mixed it up with a nutella crêpe. She had been on the hunt for one since our first day in Paris, and now was her chance! Naturally, I was only allowed one bite, but it was quite good! By now, we probably had added back all of the calories that we burned from the bike ride earlier-and then some, but it was all worth it.

It was now past 8, so we needed to get moving. Our planned engagement was to start at 8:30, but we needed to be there at least 15 minutes earlier than that. So, we crossed over the Seine to Île de la Cité. After briefly admiring Notre Dame in the fading daylight, we continued on until we reached the security entrance to the Sainte-Chapelle. We had of course already visited the Sainte-Chapelle on day 3, but tonight’s visit was no ordinary tour. This time we were attending a concert that was to be performed in the beautiful chapel.

Instead of entering through the visitors’ entrance at the lower level of the Sainte-Chapelle, that evening we entered on the main level which was connected to the halls of the Palais de Justice. With our student tickets that we purchased online, our seats did not have the greatest view of the stage area. However, we were there for the music, and every seat in the house had a fantastic view of the beautiful stained glass windows that looked out over the proceedings below. The repertoire for the concert was very challenging (and very baroque). The pieces to be performed were Albinoni’s Adagio, Handel’s Sarabande, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

We all welcomed the 6 musicians to the stage. Bertrand Cervera (Violin soloist for l’Orchestre National de France) would lead the Orchestre Paris Classik in tonight’s concert. The other musicians in the ensemble were two violinists, a violist, a cellist, and a harpsichordist. The concert was incredibly enjoyable. Cervera was phenomenal in both his energy and virtuosity, and the passion and skill of all the musicians was easily seen and heard. The acoustics of the Sainte-Chapelle were excellent, and this created the sense that the music we were hearing could have been the same that was heard by French royalty many years ago. The concert lasted just over an hour, but I did not wish it to end.

As we walked back to the hotel, we took our time. With such a wonderful ending to such an exciting and adventurous day, we were in excellent spirits. Already the “Flat Tire Fiasco” from earlier in the day was no longer a frustrating experience but a hilarious story, and we looked forward to what the next day would bring. We would be leaving Paris yet again, but this time in the opposite direction.